GRENADA SEEKS OAS COOPERATION FOR POLICE TRAINING

SANTO DOMINGO, Nov. 6, 2009 -

Grenada’s Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States (OAS), Ambassador Gillian Bristol Thursday addressed the Second Meeting of Ministers of Public Security on the Feasibility Study done by the OAS Department of Public Security on strengthening training of public security personnel in the Americas.

Ambassador Bristol noted that while Grenada was not one of the countries targeted by the Study, the proposed curriculum includes a key area of relevance and importance for enhancing the professional capacity within the Royal Grenada Police Force (RGPF).

While the conclusions of the Study are to be examined by Government experts in the coming year in order to define precise implementation mechanisms for the proposed curriculum, Bristol appealed to the OAS Secretariat for more immediate assistance especially for midlevel and frontline technical training for the RGPF.
The Ambassador said the need for assistance in training is even more urgent with the reduction in donor funding and local budgetary constraints.

The Feasibility Study was conducted by the OAS as directed by the region’s Ministers of Public Security at their first meeting held in 2008.
The Study states that one of “the central objectives of any national public security policy must be to equip members of the police high command, civilian authorities and political players with the capacity to manage their security responsibilities.”
Bristol underscored that the smaller nations of the OECS share some of the same kinds of crime challenges as the bigger countries in CARICOM and the wider region, but have their own security realities and needs which have to be addressed by specifically designed programmes – a sentiment echoed by St. Lucia’s Minister for Home Affairs and National Security, George Guy Mayers, the only other OECS country attending the Meeting.

Noting Grenada’s relatively low crime rate and tranquil society, Bristol stated that bolstering national stability in the face of the ever-increasing threat of transnational organised crime and external criminal activities requires urgent technical cooperation from the international community.

To this end, Bristol informed that the Grenada Mission to the OAS will be pursuing such assistance from the OAS Department of Public Security under its Inter-American Police Training Programme.
Bristol is attending the Meeting in representation of Grenada’s Prime Minister and Minister for National Security, Tillman Thomas.